CM's signature forged; 5 arrested from Uttar Pradesh, in custody

GUWAHATI: A covert operation by a team of Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell has led to the arrest of five Uttar Pradesh miscreants who withdrew over Rs 2.30 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund through fraudulent means. The five have been already sent to the custody of the Vigilance Cell by a special court.

Talking to the media here on Monday, SP Rosie Kalita of the Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell said, "It was on August 8, 2020 that the Chief Minister himself detected some unusual transactions in the Relief Fund. On August 12, he instructed us to start an investigation. We filed an FIR in the Vigilance Police Station (Case No. 04/2020 u/s 120B/406/ 409/419/ 420/468 IPC R/W Sec 13(2) Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018). During the preliminary investigation, it came to light that the amount was fraudulently withdrawn in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by forging cheques and signatures of the Chief Minister.

"On August 27 we (a seven-member team) left for Uttar Pradesh and raided remote areas in Gorakhpur and Basti districts there, leading to the arrest of the five. The five are –Mohammed Arif, Mohammed Asif, Lalji, Sarvesh Rao and Ravindra Kumar, all from Basti district. They were taken to Guwahati on Sunday night. On Monday we produced them before the Special Court that sent them to our custody for eight days."

The SP further said that support from UP CMO and the police made the job to nab the culprits easier.

The SP said that the SBI has already refunded the amount to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund as there was fault on its part also.

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